Former State Employee Going to Prison for Embezzlement and Forgery

July 29, 2014

A former state employee is going to prison for embezzlement and forgery, announced Attorney General Jim Hood today.

Rhonda Gleason, 49, of Richton, was sentenced today by Judge Billy Joe Landrum in the First Judicial District of Jones County after pleading guilty to two counts of embezzlement and one count of forgery. The crimes occurred while Gleason was employed as a program director at Ellisville State School. Officials at Ellisville reported the issue to the Attorney General’s Office.

Gleason was sentenced to five years on each count, to run concurrent, with four years suspended and one to serve. She also received two years of post-release supervision during which time she must complete 624 hours of community service. Gleason was also ordered to pay full restitution to Ellisville, which initially reimbursed the victims. She must also pay all court costs plus a $1,000 fine to cover investigative costs and $1,000 to the public defender’s fund.

The attorney general’s investigation showed that Gleason took small increments of money totaling over $5,500 from over 22 residents during a two year period. Gleason also forged the names of other employees claiming they had witnessed monetary transactions when in fact they had not.

The case was investigated and prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.